Survivors and family members of the Fort Hood shootings released a video last week demanding the U.S. government designate the massacre as an act of terrorism rather than a case of a murderous rampage.

Such a designation would give the victims an enhanced series of benefits as if they were wounded in combat, according to the group.

The video includes victims and witnesses to the shootings on November 5, 2009. While much of the video uses victims to recount their experiences during the shooting, some complain that charging Maj. Nidal Hasan with murder does not reinforce what the actual incident turned out to be, an act of terrorism, they say.

One victim, who was shot in the chest, says, "They (Fort Hood victims) were killed and wounded by a domestic enemy, somebody who was there that day to kill soldiers, to prevent them from deploying," according to Army Staff Sgt. Shawn Manning in the video. "If that's not an act of war or an act of terrorism, I don't know what is."
Hasan is accused of opening fire at the post's processing center, where soldiers were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq. Thirteen people were killed and another 32 wounded. He is charged with multiple counts of murder.

He faces a possible death sentence if convicted. He was paralyzed from the waist down in the shooting, when police officers exchanged fire with him.

Investigations that followed the killings found he had been communicating via e-mail with Anwar al-Awlaki, the Yemeni-American radical cleric killed by a U.S. drone attack in 2011.

An FBI report in July found that the communications between Hasan and al-Awlaki should have been given to the Pentagon, but the FBI saw no evidence of terrorist activities in his case, and believed the information in the e-mails was too sensitive to share. It noted that visiting extremist websites is not grounds for taking action.

The Coalition of Fort Hood Heroes, the group behind the video, posted a petition with the video asking the government to make the victims eligible for the Purple Heart, which brings higher priority veterans' benefits and compensation.

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Steven Warren said the Army Secretary would be the person to designate whether the rampage was considered an international terrorist attack. If he were to do that, then the soldiers could be eligible to receive the Purple Heart, Warren said.

In a statement, Pentagon press secretary George Little said changing the characterization of the attack to terrorism in the middle of legal proceedings against Hasan could affect the entire court case.

"The Department of Defense is committed to the integrity of the ongoing court-martial proceedings of Maj. Nadal Hasan and for that reason will not at this time further characterize the incident that occurred at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009. Maj. Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder, and 32 counts of attempted murder. As with all pending UCMJ matters, the accused is innocent until proven guilty. Survivors of the incident at Fort Hood are eligible for the same medical benefits as any service member. The Department of Defense is committed to the highest care of those in our military family," according to the statement.

In the video, some of the victims call the attack "workplace violence." The references cite Defense Department documents that recommend it address workplace violence issues in the wake of the Fort Hood attacks, but Hasan's rampage was never officially cited as workplace violence by the government.

Hasan is charged with murder, and as the investigation progressed, the shooting was also referred to as being caused by extremism on the part of Hasan.

Earlier this month, Reps. John Carter and Michael McCaul, R-Texas, wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Secretary of the Army John McHugh asking for the 45 people killed and wounded in the shootings be awarded the Purple Heart.

The co-signed letter said, "Based on all the facts, it is inconceivable to us that the DoD and Army continue to label this attack, 'workplace violence' in spite of all the evidence that clearly proves the Fort Hood shooting was an act of terror."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces on Monday issued another stay in the court-martial of Hasan. The move comes after defense attorneys lost an appeal last week that upheld the trial judge's order that Hasan appear in court clean shaven.

Hasan's attorneys have told the CAAF that they intend to appeal last week's ruling. Until that appeal is resolved, the court-martial trial remains on hold.

soundoff(61 Responses)

Walter Sieruk

Lets face thefacts of reality.The Fort Hood shooter yelled ou "Allahu Akbar" all the while he was commit those heinous act of mass murder. Thus he is a jihadist, his religion drove him to these murderous actions. Therefore, he is guilty of murder and likewise his religion,Islam,which inspired him to do it is likewise guilty of murder.

What is wrong with people in this country? Our military should be supported by every citizen. They put THEIR LIVES on the line for the rights we all enjoy. If they believe it was a terrorist attack then we should all support them and tell our government to call it that. Ask yourselves why are we fighting with each other over an issue that should not be an issue!!!!! What has happened to common sense and respect for our fellow citizens.

This is part and parcel of the rewriting of history and Orwellian "newspeak" as put forth by the Obama regime. Obama should be IMPEACHED for aiding and abetting the enemy: from his "apology tour," to his "crotch salute" to our flag, to his cancelling OUR National Day of Prayer and inviting Muslims into the White House, instead, to REFUSING to protect our borders against foreign invaders and taking the State of Arizona to court for enforcing federal law against illegal immigration. Remember, this is the guy that said he would "decrease the armed forces to levels acceptable to peaceful Muslim countries" when elected President. Well, try as I might, I still haven't seen a Muslim country that IS peaceful. And try as I might, I see Major Nidal Hassan's actions as nothing but a terrorist action – particularly as he was heard to be shouting "Allah Akbar" as he MURDERED unarmed American soldiers.

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces on Monday issued another stay in the court-martial of Hasan. The move comes after defense attorneys lost an appeal last week that upheld the trial judge's order that Hasan appear in court clean shaven.

Hasan's attorneys have told the CAAF that they intend to appeal last week's ruling. Until that appeal is resolved, the court-martial trial remains on hold."

Oh and the doctors/commanders who turned their heads to this dudes antics....
but romnesia will declare they were under Obamas rule therefore he is the one that ignored the signs.
fear mongering is a gop thing without it u cant INCREASE military spending cuz that increases jobs but government doesnt create jobs, but military spending must increase to increase jobs but government doesnt create jobs but military spending must increase to increase jobs but goverment doesnt create jobs

No, it is not terrorism, and as much as these people would like to have the extra benefit from having it labeled as such it should be identified for what it is, not what we wish it was. Unfortunately just a crazy man with a gun.

"Such a designation would give the victims an enhanced series of benefits as if they were wounded in combat, according to the group."

To call it murder or to call it terrorism is not important. What is important is that human beings were murdered that day. To label Hasan's actions terrorism for obtaining combat benefits as quoted above is, in my opinion, abuse of the system . What is truly important is that Hasan be brought to trial, and punished for his actions.

A crime is someone killing for a reason, or robbing, terrorism is violence for a cause of victims of no purpose.
It is not warfare, it is not a crime, IT IS TERRORISM, Terrorism allows the death penalty for complete reckless disregard for all human life. Such a person has no soul and no value, death is the only option to serve ... peace of mind to the victims. Terrorism will never have any justice equal to the damage and death caused. Little is left for us you use against they types of acts and people.

Being an army veteran I am all for military members and veterans rights but was not an act of terrorism I'm sorry. I know I will make alot of people mad but seriously people!!! Stop trying to abuse the system. There are soldiers in Afghanistan that deserve awards that aren't receiving them.

You're right this is not an act of terrorism. If it were then every time someone shoots at our soldiers it's an act of terrorism. This may sound crass but the military is fair game in a war. And this is a war.

I'm not saying he was justified in what he did, I'm just saying it was a violent massacre and he deserves punishment for it. Is what he did fair? No. But was it an act of terrorism? Again no.

October 24, 2012 at 12:39 am |

Oshkosh

This a clear cut case of terrorism. This guy entered in USA and enrolled in military with only one intention to kill American lives. The base is inside the USA not in a battle ground country. Those victims were not in the state to fight in the battle ground. The guy communicated with the one of the most wanted terrorist for united state at the time and followed his direction/religious so called duty to kill infidel.

Really? So he joins before the gulf war even started and he planned it all out? Come on. He deserves the firing line for his actions no doubt.

October 24, 2012 at 12:42 am |

bspurloc

where did u get those facts? foxfax?
he was completely stable until he started getting harassed for being muslim....
u know like how fox insists on saying barack hussein obama... but has never used other presidents middle names...
bigots are at fault and there bigots are the terrorists.

Somehow I knew someone would say that. It's only terrorism apparently when others do it to us and not the other way around.

October 24, 2012 at 12:05 am |

Not Terrorism

Well, you made the comparison, Slick, so go ahead and finish it. What terrorist group back in the US gave PFC Green his instructions to rape the young girl and then murder the whole family? What does this group hope to achieve through such rape and murder? We already know the answers to the equivalent questions concerning Maj Hasan, so you can help us with PFC Green.

Sorry folks, an attack on military personnel on a military base is never terrorism, it is a guerilla attack. Terrorists attack schools, markets, hospitals, etc. Military and government assets are valid military targets.

Hm... if all those were terrorist activities then I guess our attack on Iraq was a terrorist action. And our attacks on Yugoslavia, and the shooting down of the the Iranian civil airplane, and oh..all those other acts we've perfomed. The military is fair game whether we like it or not.

October 24, 2012 at 12:07 am |

Not Terrorism

No, the Beirut and Cole bombings certainly *were not* terrorist acts, which is why you will not hear the US Government refer to them as such.

October 24, 2012 at 12:29 am |

rdsink

From a Soldier's perspective this is just wrong. We came under attack by a Terrorist where the U.S. uniform. In Iraq that's called insider threat Green on Blue. This man had close connections to AQ affiliates and excited a well thought out plan killing Americans. How do you get domestic out of all of this. Romney got the smack down by Dem for publicizing Benghazi and the President gets a pass for avoiding calling this thing what it was Terrorism. How pathetic is this?

Let's see... muslim Army officer kills "fellow" soldiers on a military installation in the name of islam... Seems like a fundamentalist terrorist attack to me. After all, Tim McVey's role in the OKC bombing was listed as an act of domestic-terrorism, why not the same for the Ft Hood shooting?

I got it... The powers that be are afraid to label it terrorism as not to offend islam and it's sheep, I mean followers...

Of course it was terrorism. This clown was communicating with a known Al Qaeda cleric that was killed in Yemen last year. This wasn't some random shooting, this was a pre-planned terrorist attack conducted by a Muslim that hid his hate for America while wearing an armed services uniform. There's no sense in arguing this was some random act, that would be foolish, let's call it what it was, a terrorist attack.

why are these moslems allowed in the u.s.a. in the first place, alot of americans would be alive today if this hypocrit goverment would take a stand against moslem immigration and stop listening to liberals that are ruining this country.

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